Brian Bandell

Senior Reporter - South Florida Business Journal

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The Gansevoort South Hotel in Miami Beach was acquired by a consortium of Starwood Capital Group Starwood Capital GroupLatest from The Business JournalsMiami's Crescent Heights to buy unsold Atlantic condos Crescent Heights to buy unsold Atlantic condosST Residential Completes Bulk Sale of "Atlantic"Follow this company , the LeFrak Organization and Invesco InvescoLatest from The Business JournalsAtlanta-based Invesco buys Honolulu Safeway centerInvesco posts 0M annual profit Glenwood Ave. office building bought by New Boston FundFollow this company .

The new owners did not announce the price of the transaction, but the deed should be made public in Miami-Dade County records within the week. They said they plan to rebrand the hotel the Perry South Beach and relaunch it in 2013 after a $100 million renovation.

In fact, they already launched a new website.

The hotel, at 2377 Collins Ave., has 334 hotel rooms and 255 condo units totaling 294,000 square feet. It also has 90,000 square feet of retail space, including the 42,000-square-foot David Barton Gym. It has three pools and a private beach.

The Philippe Miami restaurant was formerly housed there, but court records show it was evicted in December for failing to pay rent.

The hotel was previously owned by Sandy Lane Residential and Sandy Lane Retail. Those companies, previously managed by New York-based Gansevoort Hotel Group, were taken over in early 2010 by Credit Suisse Credit SuisseLatest from The Business JournalsIs Amazon's Quidsi unit moving into sporting goods?Watch out, REI: Amazon’s eyeing your outdoors customersKCI implements new management structureFollow this company , on behalf of securitized investors, because the hotel owner defaulted on an $89 million mezzanine loan. The property had a $403 million total debt when it was seized. That included a $315 million first mortgage held by Mexico’s Banco Inbursa S.A.

As for the new owners, Starwood Capital Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht has extensive hotel management experience from his years as head of Starwood Hotels Starwood HotelsLatest from The Business JournalsHotels adding, upgrading as region goes after more businessAd agency Ogilvy & Mather makes big move to MidtownCredit line shows return of funding for hotelsFollow this company and Resorts. His new company controls a large block of condo and condo-hotel units in South Florida that were acquired as part of the failure of Corus Bank.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to create a premier luxury hotel and residences along one of the world’s most beautiful and popular beaches at a time when global interest in the Miami marketplace is close to surpassing its all-time high,” Sternlicht said in a news release. “This is a powerhouse asset with a unique beach footprint in one of the strongest hotel markets in the nation with high barriers to entry …. Importantly, this partnership has extensive experience and a proven track record of successfully investing in and managing thousands of properties in this region.”